


How to thaw when the ice is in your bones

by amberandmetal



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Avenger Reader (Marvel), Cuddling, Drowning, F/M, Fluff, Ice, M/M, Movie Night, Non Explicit Sex, Other, Sex, Trauma, and warm, bucky is soft, such snuggles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-07 04:39:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17953760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amberandmetal/pseuds/amberandmetal
Summary: During a mission things goes awry and now you can’t seem to get warm. Bucky, being the sweet thing he is, offers a solution. Sweet cuddling and some lovely (non explicit) smut ensues.





	How to thaw when the ice is in your bones

**Author's Note:**

> I’m actually quite happy with how this turned out, and suprise surprise again it seems like I have written a gender neutral reader. It seems to be my default mode nowadays? So this fic can be read by any gender! Whoop!

    The blankets you’d wrapped around your body until you were practically cocooned in them did nothing to counteract the cold in your skin: it had gotten into your bones. You couldn’t hear the TV over the chattering of your teeth or the febrile thu-thump thu-thump behind your ribcage.

    It had been a close call, not that it mattered; you’d had plenty of those, all of you had. But you’d never felt so helpless before.

    The woman, the agent that had gone under right through the ice, you didn’t even know her name. She’d been there one second, gone the next and you hadn’t been able to think, hadn’t been aware of making the decision until you were down there with her, the cold sharp as shards, using your enhanced speed to get to her before the currents took her with them.. She had been breathing when you left but that was also all you knew.

    “Y/n?”

    Your head snapped around so fast you almost fell off the couch, limbs tangled in a dozen or so blankets of various materials and sizes.

    The others were all asleep, the wear after a mission hitting them all hard; except for Steve and Thor who were probably in the gym working out some lingering adrenaline.

    Left awake in the common room were you, and Bucky.

    “What?”

    “You okay?”

    You tried for an easy smile, puzzling together some sort of elaborate lie to tell him so he wouldn’t worry. You’d done this before, you could do it again. It was better this way. There was already enough burden on everyone’s shoulders, you didn’t want to add to that. You could do this. Just get the words out. That’s all. Just settle for a  _I am fine_. Just, get the words  _out_.

    His silver grey eyes looked tired but open with worry and you just deflated- too fucking tired. Too tired to come up with a plausible lie, too tired to act like you were fine; too tired, too cold and too fucking lonely. You averted your eyes, fixing them on the patterns of the floor.

    “I’m cold.”

    You squared your jaw as your neck tensed against the oncoming rush of images. The thick ice above you, the currents pulling you down, down, down, snagging on your feet and making it impossible to kick, superspeed be damned. You couldn’t find the opening where she had fallen through; you’d got her back up, and then.. slipped. Hit the back of your head on the ice on your way down and the few seconds of desorientation was apparently all it took for you to completely lose your bearings. You followed the bubbles from your breath upwards but found nothing but thick ice. You saw your team on the other side, tearing at the hole in the ice, making it bigger, searching for you. You’d tried to scream, tried to remain logical, tried to swim towards them, tried to hold your breath, tried to pound on the ice- anything. It had been so cold, and you just couldn’t get warm.

    “Still feels like you’re in the ice?”

    Still shivering, you nodded.

    You heard some rustling and the sound of fabric against fabric and then a sudden thump.

    “Ever since the serum,” you looked up at Bucky who had removed the back pillows from the couch and scooted in a bit, holding the blanket he’d been wrapped up in high over himself in clear invitation, “I run hot, like crazy hot, so.. if you want..”

    It was frankly adorable how uncertain he looked, and under normal circumstances it was likely you’d be over analyzing this a mile a minute before coming to the conclusion that it was probably a bad idea. But this wasn’t normal circumstances and you’d do just about anything to warm up the ice in your veins. So without a word you untangled from your cocoon and cautiously made your way over to Bucky, nestling in, back to chest and making yourself as small as possible, knees drawn up tight to your body.

    Bucky draped the fabric over you both, tucking it in around your smaller frame and then wrapped his shiny left arm around you; and to your great surprise it was warm. Just as him.

    It was like being hugged by a radiator and you felt your muscles untense just the tiniest bit.

    “Oh, wow. You really weren’t kidding, huh?”, you sighed, eyes closed and the soft quilt pulled up beneath your chin.

    Bucky reached for the remote, pushing replay on the movie and then settled back against you, pulling you close as the notes to the intro rang out through the speakers. It felt weird but.. good, safe.

    “Nah, I really weren’t.”

    He hummed, pushing his face against your neck and you froze for a moment, and a second later so did he.

    “What are you doing?”

    “Enjoying the moment?”

    And you actually managed to laugh at that, an unexpected effervescent sound trilling off your lips.

    “So is this- what? You just-”

    “Can’t we just stick with I like to be close to you and maybe not analyse that right this instant? You’re still shivering, doll, and not in a good way.”

    You snorted, grateful that he managed to not only lighten the mood but distract you from the persistent memories picking your brain apart.

    The shield had almost cracked your skull when it broke through the ice and you had three stitches to prove it, but you were still grateful, for if it hadn’t been for Cap and that shield you wouldn’t been here now at all. Still, it was a sound you’d probably never forget. These things had a way of latching on to the very fibers of your mind, etching themselves into the linings of your skull like a morbid cave painting. You shuddered and burrowed closer.

    “Yeah, yeah alright,” you conceded, pushing back, chasing the warmth, “but if you weren’t so damn deliciously warm I’d-”

    “Still be here because of my dashing good looks?”

    You huffed a laugh, snickering under your breath.

    “You’re ridiculous,” you breathed, and added as in afterthought, “don’t ever change that.”

    It was easier being open and stupid about things when you were tired and cold and in the warm arms of one of your favourite people. Even though you might judge yourself for this later on, you knew he wouldn’t.

    He shifted closer, his body curling around yours until his knees nudged the back of yours, a pleased hum in his chest.

    You’d almost fallen asleep when his lips moved behind your ear, his breath a soft thing against your skin.

    “Stay here tonight?”, he let his hand curve around your waist and squeeze lightly, “don’t worry.. I’ll keep you warm.”

    You shivered against him, but this time for only the good reasons.

       ~~~

    When your eyes reopened everything went by in a sleep riddled haze; the room was dark save for the light from the DVD menu- and you were the only two left.

    There was only Bucky, warm and hard against you, and hands- his, yours, who knew- in a blurr; asking, squeezing, petting and pulling. Somehow you ended up facing each other and there was something there in his eyes, something only half aware but still asking. You answered not in words, but in touches, tiny little moans that you allowed to slip and the wet slide of your lips against his. He groaned as if in relief and you swallowed every noise down, tugging at him, caressing, pulling the sounds from him to drink down like water.

    He mumbled sweet nothings in your ear, warm metal finding the curves of your body with ease, seeking out all the places that made you light up.

    When you were flush against each other, not a thread between you, he slowly entered you, warming you up from the inside out, thawing you in a rhythm that closely resembled a slow heartbeat, soft and unrushed.

    The heat billowed around you, seemed to come off his body like vapor and it was simultaneously comforting and addictive.

    His arms were tightly wrapped around you and the nails of his right hand bore into your skin, keeping you centered, grounded. He closed his mouth over your shoulder, just at the nape; teeth grazing and rasping over your rapidly heating skin.

    You whimpered, pulling closer and burrowing your face along his neck, the slight stubble rasping your cheek.

    “I got you.” he murmured, and his voice sounded low and rich in your ear.

    There was heat, and sleep addled minds, and roaming hands that never sought permission from their owners- just need beneath a blanket of barely awake; and when he drove you to your peak, pushing you over the edge only to soon follow, you simply shivered in each others arms, shared breaths and soft moans slowly warming you up.


End file.
